New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 10 - NON-COAL MINING
Part 3 - MINIMAL IMPACT OPERATIONS
Section 19.10.3.302 - MINIMAL IMPACT EXPLORATION OPERATIONS
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. A minimal impact exploration operation will not exceed 1000 cubic yards of excavation per permit. Disturbances for constructed roads, drill pads and mud pits shall be no more than 5 acres total and will not be counted in the excavated materials. The type of road construction, the number and type of drill pads, and other disturbances when considered with site specific conditions will be major factors in determining eligibility for minimal impact status which is in the discretion of the director.
B. Timing of applications and deadlines for approval for minimal impact exploration operations must be in accordance with 19.10.4.401 NMAC, except that a complete application for minimal impact exploration operations shall be submitted not less than 45 days prior to the anticipated date of commencement of operations.
C. An applicant for a minimal impact exploration operation permit shall submit six copies of a completed application on a form provided by the director. If the proposed operation is on federal land, information submitted to the federal land management agency may be submitted with the application in lieu of providing duplicative information. Any confidential information shall be submitted separately in accordance with Subsection B of 19.10.4.402 NMAC.
D. The application shall include the following information:
E. The application must be accompanied by the permit fee as required by 19.10.2 NMAC.
F. If the permit area includes state or federally-owned lands, no permit will be issued unless the appropriate land management agency has approved or acknowledged the proposed operation, if such approval or acknowledgement is required by the agency's rules.
G. The director shall, after determining that the application is complete, deliver copies of the application (except those parts of the application designated confidential under Subsection B of 19.10.4.402 NMAC provided, however, that the director shall include with the application a list of the parts withheld and will provide such parts on specific request) to the agencies listed in Subsection F of 19.10.4.402 NMAC which shall have 20 days in which to provide comments to the director. The director shall consider comments from these agencies in making a determination of eligibility for minimal impact status.
H. The director shall determine if an operation is eligible for a minimal impact operation permit and may conduct a site visit in making this determination.
I. No permit for a minimal impact exploration operation will be issued until the director finds the following:
J. The term of a permit for a minimal impact exploration operation is governed by Subsections A, C and D of 19.10.4.405 NMAC. Modifications to the permit are governed by 19.10.4.406 NMAC. A termination report pursuant to 19.10.4.407 NMAC is also required at the conclusion of an exploration operation not being renewed, unless the permittee has applied for a mining operation permit.
K. Reclamation of the disturbed area shall be initiated as soon as possible and completed in accordance with the schedule in the permit. Topsoil or topdressing material removal and stockpiling shall precede any excavation within the drill site area. All lands, including access roads or terrain damaged in gaining access to or clearing the site, or lands whose natural state has been substantially disturbed as a result of the exploration by drilling, shall be restored as nearly as possible to their original condition unless otherwise requested by the landowner and applicant and approved by the director. Where vegetation has been removed or destroyed within the permit area, vegetative cover shall be reestablished by seeding, planting, transplanting, or other adequate methods. All open mud pits shall be constructed in a manner to prevent wildlife entrapment, and shall be constructed to prevent any overflows. When drilling is completed, the mud pits shall be allowed to dry and then backfilled with native cover.
L. Each drill hole shall be plugged from total depth to within 2 feet of the original ground surface or the collar of the hole, whichever is lower, with a column of cement, high-density bentonite clay or other materials specified in the permit. If the approved plugging material is not cement, then the top ten feet of the column must be a cement plug. The hole shall be backfill with topdressing or topsoil from above the cement plug to the original ground surface. The hole shall be plugged as soon as practicable and satisfy the requirements of the state engineer and the New Mexico environment department for proper plugging of such holes. This plugging requirement may be waived if the state engineer issues a permit for a well for the exploration drill hole.
M. Financial assurance may only be released after the permittee has submitted a termination report that meets the requirements of 19.10.4.407 NMAC and the director has determined, after inspection, that the reclamation requirements of this section and the permit have been satisfied.